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Play Ball!
Ravens GM Canetti has a new major-league partner, new players
and coaches and a 72-year-old ballpark. Let's play two
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Business New Haven
4/19/1999
By: BNH
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Chris Canetti, 28, is the general manager of the New Haven Ravens baseball club, members of the AA Eastern League. On April 12 the team opened its sixth season at Yale Field with a new major-league affiliate, the Seattle Mariners. It also is coming off its worst attendance season in the team's brief history, which many blame on a new team and new stadium in nearby Bridgeport. Canetti discussed the club's prospects - literal and figurative - with BNH as the 1999 campaign unfolded.
What is involved in switching affiliations from one team to another?
There are 30 cities that were granted a AA franchise - one for every major-league team. New Haven happens to be one of those 30. We have to partner up with one of those 30 major-league teams. People tend to have an idea that, 'Hey, the Rockies are leaving. What if the Ravens don't get someone else - are they going to leave town?' The fact is, we're guaranteed some [other major-league affiliation]. The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues [NAPBL] is the governing body; they established these minor-league franchises; by an agreement the major leagues have with NAPBL, partnerships are formed. We had a two-year agreement with the Colorado Rockies that expired at the end of the 1998 season. As the season progressed, it became clear that we were going to seek a new affiliate - we just thought it was time after five years to bring some new excitement into the market.
If [Ravens majority owner] Ed Massey wanted to sell his franchise rights to another city, could he?
Yes. The franchises can be moved by ownership. Anyway, at the end of last season it became apparent to us that it was time to seek change; there's a process by which you file for divorce, basically. After a deadline passes, we are given a list of teams whose [AA] contracts have expired. There were seven teams which were looking to shuffle [AA locations]: the [Arizona] Diamondbacks, the [Oakland] A's, the [Anaheim] Angels, the [Milwaukee] Brewers, the Rockies, the Mariners and the [Pittsburgh] Pirates. After some face-to-face meetings, it pretty much boiled down to the Mariners and the Angels, and we thought the Mariners were a great fit. So we got together [in September] and signed a player-development contract [PDC] for two years.
What factors do major-league clubs consider when making a decision like this about a AA city?
There are only 30 [AA] cities, and only three leagues: the Texas League, which is in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas; the Southern League, which has teams from North Carolina to Florida out to Mississippi; and the Eastern League. The Eastern League offers a great deal to a major-league club: There are 12 teams in the league, nine of which are in brand-new facilities. The travel is simple. The transportation is easy [for the parent club to move players in and out of].
Anything else they look at?
Getting players affordable homes in decent areas in proximity to the ballpark. [Also,] our stadium, our field conditions and our staff. We go above and beyond to treat our major-league affiliates [better] than other clubs do. We do a lot to try to place players in homes, and try to help them out. We try to maintain a standard of professionalism, and we certainly tried to portray that to the Mariners.
How did [Mariners officials] react when they came here and saw the park? Do they care that Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth played here?
It's neat for them, but I don't think it necessarily has an impact on their decision-making. We're always concerned, because this stadium was built in 1927, and the minor-league ballparks that are going up around the country right now are $20 million or $30 million complexes that are [in essence] major-league facilities. We don't have that.
Who pays for what?
The players pay their own living expenses in town. As far as the relationship between us and the Mariners, there's no cash exchanged. None of our revenues go to them. We pay for the players hotels on the road, transportation. We pay meal money on the road - $20 per day for players; $30 for coaches - but we get reimbursed by the Mariners. We pay for uniforms and umpires, and we pay one-third for bats and balls.
Home attendance last year was 197,000, lowest in five years. What accounts for the downward trend, besides having competition in Bridgeport?
People want to see good, solid baseball. And our club has not been very strong the last three years. But this year we have a team that's just loaded with talent, so the team itself is going to be very exciting. And the Mariners have told us that they are committed to working with us in getting players out in the community, getting involved in schools and Little Leagues. So we'll use them to the best of our ability to market ourselves - which is difficult, because we play 142 games in 150 days. It's not like hockey, where players have days off at a time.
Do wins and losses impact attendance that much at this level?
You can come here and have a great time whether the team wins or loses. But you always have to factor in the [media] coverage that you get [and its impact on attendance]. When you're 59-82, like we were last year, your front-page story becomes a page 3 story. Channel 8 goes from coming out three times a week to maybe twice a month.
Are the people going to Bridgeport really people who in previous years would have been coming here?
Fairfield County was our county. We had demographics that showed that we drew all the way from Westchester, N.Y. If we're the York Square Cinemas - this old historic movie house - and we have this whole town to ourselves, and then this megaplex comes into town, it's definitely going to hurt us.
But the new megaplex opened not in your town, but 20 miles away.
But we were drawing from there. A lot of our season-ticket base was in Westport, Shelton, Bridgeport, Fairfield. So when [the Bridgeport Bluefish] started there, people wanted to support their Fairfield County team. I don't think there's another team in the country that has another minor-league ballpark as close.
Why do you think their team did so well, not even being affiliated with Major League Baseball?
No. 1, it is a beautiful stadium. No. 2, you're educated enough to know that [Bridgeport is in] an independent league, and we're affiliated with the Major Leagues. A lot of people aren't; they're just going out for a good time, family fun and entertainment. You'd be surprised at the number of phone calls we get [asking], 'When are you playing Bridgeport?' So we have to educate people that we are affiliated with the Major Leagues, and the players who play in our ballpark are going to be in the Major Leagues some day. Nomar Garciaparra played here. Derek Jeter played here.
But a major Bridgeport attraction is the ballpark itself?
No question. There's a trend that's going on all across the country: When new parks are being built, they're being built in ideal locations as part of an economic-redevelopment project for a city. That's what they did in Bridgeport: 'Let's use this as a source for bringing people into the city and [reaping] the economic spinoffs.' And so far it's been very successful. And because they're using the park as a centerpiece for redevelopment, there's a lot of support - from the business community, from the political leadership. No one is going to let that thing fail.
Bridgeport, Norwich and New Britain all got between $15 million and $17 million for their ball parks, but you can't get $2.5 million for stadium improvements. What politician isn't doing his job here?
I don't know if someone's not doing their job. We have a lot of people working for us. Mayor DeStefano has us high on his list of priorities, although we're in West Haven. We haven't been able to get onto the [state] Bond Commission agenda.
Why?
Some say Yale is an issue. We play in a Yale facility, and they're having difficulty giving a large sum of money to Yale.
So why doesn't Yale exert leverage?
There's not much benefit to Yale from these improvements. Yale needs a baseball field to play its games on and bathrooms. They don't need a merchandise store or new concession stands or better landscaping.
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